Recruit Arrington Farrar next up in Notre Dame's safety dance
The dance goes on as the search continues.
Men Without Hats can provide the soundtrack for the final stretch of Notre Dame’s football recruiting efforts in the 2015 cycle with its biggest hit from 1983. As signing day looms next Wednesday, the Irish are in the midst of “The Safety Dance.”
Running back Dexter Williams and wide receiver Equanimeous St. Brown are expected singing day additions for Notre Dame. What’s left for the Irish is landing one final safety, among a handful of uncommitted options, to finish the class.
The search has extended to the final weekend for official visitors before signing day on Wednesday. Arrington Farrar, a four-star recruit, will serve as the last candidate to make the trek to South Bend and consider the Irish.
Farrar, who once gave Stanford his verbal commitment, is scheduled to visit campus this weekend with his mother. The trip to Notre Dame comes on the heels of January swings to North Carolina and Wisconsin.
“Notre Dame has a great shot of landing him,” said 247Sports director of recruiting Steve Wiltfong. “He's a high academic kid. I think all the things Notre Dame can present are what he and his family are looking for in a school. He'll come to campus this weekend, and I think he'll like it a lot."
The 6-foot-2, 195-pound Farrar finished his senior season at College Park (Ga.) Woodward Academy with 107 tackles, six tackles for loss, and two interceptions. In the classroom, Farrar earned a 3.5 GPA.
CBS Sports Network recruiting analyst Tom Lemming, who was at Woodward Academy on Thursday, said he thinks Farrar is likely to end up at Notre Dame or Wisconsin.
“He's a solid safety,” Lemming said. “He hits hard and can run. He's a very good ball player. He's a physical guy with a lot of confidence, a smooth backpedal. I really liked his film.”
247Sports slates Farrar as the No. 15 safety in the 2015 class. Rivals ranks him No. 27 at the position.
The Irish landed three safeties earlier during the recruiting cycle, but only two remain. Nicco Fertitta of Las Vegas and Mykelti Williams are expected to sign with the Irish Wednesday. Prentice McKinney of Dallas recently flipped his commitment to North Carolina, the upshot reportedly of not being an academic match for the Irish.
Notre Dame needs quality and quantity at the safety position, with Drue Tranquill, Elijah Shumate and Max Redfield the only certain returnees at the position next season. And Shumate will be a senior in 2015.
Without Farrar, the Irish would have to turn to Justin Reid, who visited Notre Dame last weekend, or Nate Meadors, who visited the weekend of January 16. Those two, both three-star recruits according to Rivals, are expected to make their final visits elsewhere this weekend — Reid to LSU and Meadors to UCLA. The Irish might not learn their fate with any of the group until next week.
Notre Dame head coach Brian Kelly recently visited all three safeties as the Irish try to seal the deal with one of them. The past results of the 2015 class have Wiltfong confident in Notre Dame’s chances to land one of them, particularly Farrar.
“Notre Dame lost out on a quarterback with Blake Barnett and they still got a talented player in Brandon Wimbush,” Wiltfong said. “They need two running backs, and I feel real good about getting Dexter Williams with Josh Adams. Safety was a huge need for them in this class and they got Mykelti Williams, who I think is going to be an early impact guy for them. They lost Prentice McKinney and may be able to fill that with Arrington Farrar."
Soon the dance at safety will end.
“You're talking about a really good football player,” Wiltfong said of Farrar. “He’s a guy that can play against the run and tackle well. He can play coverage, but isn't going to be a man defender. If you can get a four-star recruit at a need position in the final hours, you're getting things done."
Below are highlights of Farrar's senior season via Hudl.
tjames@ndinsider.com | 574-235-6214 | Twitter: @TJamesNDI
